Russia Expedition - Footsteps of the Reindeer Herders

Travel to Siberia’s Yamal Peninsula with this nomadic tribe of reindeer herders.

There are expeditions and then there are expeditions; this trip, to the far reaches of Russia, definitely falls into the latter category. After a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it stop in St Petersburg, travel by train, bus and Trekol to the Yamal Peninsula; quite literally ‘the end of the world’. Extending far above the Arctic Circle, this isolated region has been home to the Nenets, a tribe of nomadic reindeer herders, for centuries. For the first time, the Nenets are inviting Intrepid travellers into their community for a first-hand glimpse at their daily existence. Learn about life on the frozen tundra, how they stay warm when the temperature hits -50°C, and how much the nomads rely on their reindeer herds. This is definitely one of our most eye-opening, off-the-beaten-track adventures yet.

Try your hand at fishing and then enjoy a picnic lunch on the banks of the Horomdo Lake

Explore Russia's glittering capital Moscow

Is this trip right for you?

Expedition trips may not suit everyone. While a lot of research and planning goes into putting together an Expedition itinerary, they are pioneering and innovative by nature. If smooth, ripple-free travel is what you’re after, perhaps wait until they (possibly) become established trips. But for those with a yearning to veer off the beaten track and explore free of crowds and preconceptions, this is an adventure above all others

There are four overnight train journeys and long travelling days on this Expedition trip, however the scenery and experience will be like nothing else, making the journey well worth it

In Lake Horomdo you will stay in multi-share accommodation with basic facilities

We'll participate in some hikes while we're in the Lake Horomdo region (up to 14 kilometres in total). Please ensure you are fit and able to walk this distance, and don't forget to pack your comfortable shoes.

Even though this itinerary departs in Russian summer, temperatures in the Yamal region are only around +2 degrees to +15 degrees maximum during the day not including wind chill. Having appropriate clothing for this region will be vital.

Gallery

Itinerary

Zdrastvutye! Welcome to Russia. Truly one of Europe's finest and most dazzling cities, where Baroque architecture stands alongside the opulent palaces of Russian royalty, St Petersburg’s history, emerging art and music scene, and riotous nightlife won’t fail to get under your skin. The legacy of Russian tsar Peter the Great, who founded the imperial city in 1703, will clearly be felt as you explore its enigmatic streets, cathedrals and museums.

If you arrive in town early, spend some time exploring. Perhaps climb to the colonnade of St Isaac’s Cathedral for magnificent views over the city, or stroll along Nevsky Prospekt – St Petersburg's main thoroughfare – popping into one of the many bakeries or pancake shops along the way. Non-squeamish travellers may like to check out Peter the Great’s ghoulish collection of oddities at the Kunstkamera, while art-lovers should head to the Hermitage Museum, one of the world's premier art collections, housed in the former imperial Winter Palace.

Your expedition begins with a Welcome Meeting at the hotel at 6pm. Please look for a note in the hotel lobby or ask the reception where it will take place. If you're going to be late, please inform the hotel reception. We’ll be collecting insurance and next of kin information at the meeting – please ensure you have all these details ready to provide to your leader. You’ll also need two copies of your passport, visa and migration cards ready. One will be collected by your leader, the other is for you to keep on you at all times while on this trip.

If you are on a winter departure - make sure you talk to your leader about clothing and footwear to ensure that you have suitable attire for the extreme temperatures you will experience in the Yamal Peninsula. If you are travelling in summer, adequate protection against mosquitoes is a must! Your leader will be able to recommend the best places to purchase anything you need in St Petersburg before you leave

Meals Included

Today is a long travel day, as we board the overnight train to Velikiy Ustyug (approximately 22 hours). Be sure to pack a good book or deck of cards for the journey!

Trains on this journey are simple but comfortable. You’ll travel 2nd class on this trip. There's a toilet/bathroom at the end of each carriage with a small sink and cold water. An attendant is assigned to every carriage to look after your comfort and safety (although service standards can vary greatly). Each compartment has four bunks with luggage storage space inside. Bedding is provided, although some travellers still prefer to bring their own sleeping sheet. There's hot water available for making drinks or instant meals, tea and coffee. Sometimes snacks and drinks are available for purchase on board and most trains also have a dining car although with a limited menu. We recommend stocking up on snacks prior to travel. Please note that in many cases, due to high demand for tickets on this route, the group is not always together. It's likely that at least some members of the group will be sharing compartments with other travellers, either foreign or local, particularly if your group does not divide evenly into four.

A brief word about drinking on the train: Social drinking is common on trains in Russia and can be an enjoyable way to meet local people as well as interact with your fellow Intrepid travellers (in moderation). While alcohol is often available for purchase on the train, spirits (including vodka) should only be consumed in the dining car. While we certainly want all our Intrepid travellers to have a great holiday it's important that you show due respect for your fellow group members, and keep in mind that many of your local companions use the train as a means of transport to get home or to work. It's most appreciated if foreign travellers are respectful of this, particularly in the mornings and evenings or when other passengers are sleeping.

Alcoholism is also a serious social problem in Russia so travellers should take care not to encourage or take part in drinking to excess. Fake alcohol is common and the motives for being invited to drink with locals may not always be honest. The locals' tolerance for alcohol is likely to be much higher than your own. You may be putting yourself and other members of your group at risk by getting involved in heavy drinking while on the train. While alcohol is often available for purchase on the train, spirits (including vodka) should only be consumed in the dining car. Train security guards keep a very close eye on drunken behaviour and have the legal right to fine or have any passengers who are intoxicated removed from the train without warning.

Accommodation

Overnight Sleeper Train (1 night)

Meals Included

Upon arrival in Yadrikha, transfer to Veliky Ustyug by private bus (around 50 kilometres). This small town was once well of the map, until authorities declared it the official home of Ded Moroz, the Russian Santa Claus. Also known as Father Frost, Ded Moroz is said to be 2,000 years old and once kidnapped small children, only returning them when their parents provided him with gifts. Over the years, he’s shed his negative image and is now the white-bearded, jolly gift-giving gent associated with Christmas. Home to some 30,000 people, the settlement boasts gorgeous wooden architecture and centuries-old Orthodox churches. We’ll take a walking tour around the town, then the evening is free to spend as you please.

Accommodation

Hotel (1 night)

Included Activities

Velikiy Ustyug - Walking Tour

Meals Included

Spend the morning enjoying some free time, perhaps visiting Father Frost’s Residence, before the drive to Kotlas (70 kilometres), where we’ll board our next overnight train (approximately 25 hours) all the way to the Yamal Peninsular on the Trans-Polar Railway.

Accommodation

Overnight Sleeper Train (1 night)

Meals Included

Arrive in Labytnangi, where we’ll transfer to Salekhard via private bus and ferry (approx 2 hours). Founded in 1595 by Russian Cossacks, Salekhard was once used as a place of exile, with prisoners in Soviet camps forced to mine metal ores, construct a new railway, or polish diamonds. Check into our hotel for the night. Your evening here is free, in preparation for the journey ahead.

Accommodation

Hotel (1 night)

Meals Included

We’ve got a long day of travel ahead of us today. After breakfast, take a Trekol (a from Salekhard to Factoria Laborovaya (approximately 6-8 hours). These locally built all-terrain vehicles have tubeless tyres and are essential for the landscape here - either frozen rivers or swampy land for most of the year. The vast tundra T will give you a true sense of the isolation of this region. Located above the Article Circle, Labrovaya is a village of around 20 houses with the majority of residents settled Nenets nomads. Continue to the Land of Hope camp (approximately 1 hour), our home for the next few nights. This settlement is run by award-winning educator and author Anna Pavlovna Nerkagi and was started as a place for local Nenets children to learn more about and experience their traditional culture.

Accommodation here is in basic, multishare huts or yurts known as "chum" in the local language. There are pit toilets, and a Russian banya (bathhouse). All our meals are included during our stay here and will be simple, Russian meals as well as the chance to try raw or salted fish, and reindeer meat. Depending on the season, stoves may be used for heating and in colder months blocks of ice might need to be melted for our morning cup of tea!

Accommodation

Nenets Camp (1 night)

Meals Included

It’s easy to see how the Yamal (sometimes translating to ‘the end of the world’ in the indigenous Nenets language) gets its name; the remote tundra, featuring low-lying shrubs, mossy pastures, snaking rivers and vast lakes, is pummelled by icy winds for most of the year, with temperatures dropping regularly to almost -50°C. Despite the freezing conditions for much of the year, the area is home to some 10,000 nomads and more than 300,000 domestic reindeer.

Today we’ll visit the Gornokhadatinsky National Reserve (approximately 25 kilometres from camp) by Trekol. Keep your eyes peeled for a glimpse of the muskox; with their insulated thick hair and woolly undercoats, the mammals are true Arctic animals. Enjoy a picnic on the mountainside and then visit a small Ethnographic Museum to learn more about the inhabitants of this isolated region.

Accommodation

Nenets Camp (1 night)

Included Activities

Land of Hope Nenets Camp - Ethnographic Museum

Land of Hope Nenets Camp - Gornohadatinsky Nature Reserve

Meals Included

Depending on the weather conditions, hike or snowmobile to Horomdo Lake (7 kilometres, one way), where we’ll try our hand at fishing. We'll have some locals with us to show us their special methods and no doubt share a few tales. Then we will enjoy our catch of the day with our new Nenets friends. If the fish aren't biting, we won't go hungry though as we will pack extra supplies just in case.

Return to camp and spend the rest of the day learning more about the Nenets, such as how the nomads stay warm during the freezing winter nights or about how they construct their chums - the conical-shaped tents made from reindeer hide stretched over a skeleton of wooden poles. There will be plenty of time to get involved in camp life by helping in the kitchen, learning some traditional sewing or learning Russian or Nenets words. Keep your eye out for Sihirtia, the mystical, magical trolls that are said to inhabit the tundra and were here long before the Nenets arrived on this land.

Accommodation

Nenets Camp (1 night)

Included Activities

Land of Hope Nenets Camp - Lake Horomdo

Land of Hope Nenets Camp - Fishing

Meals Included

Walk with the Nenets to a nearby nomad camp (approximately 3 kilometres), where we’ll enjoy a traditional lunch and meet more of the local community for a glimpse into their nomadic lifestyle. You’ll have the opportunity here to get up close to the beautiful reindeer herd, and perhaps even give reindeer sledding a go. The Nenets rely on reindeer for almost everything; the creatures provide food, warmth and transport. Walk back to camp for our last night here, before we head back to what many refer to as "the mainland". Perhaps attend the evening service at the little Orthodox chapel in camp tonight.

Accommodation

Meals Included

This morning, take a tour of Salekhard, the only city in the world located on the Arctic Circle. See the legendary baby mammoth, known as Lyuba, in the Shemanovsky Ethnographic Museum. Other places of interest in the city include the market, Victory Park with its display of tanks from the Great Patriotic War, the wooden theatre building andthe Peter and Paul Chapel.

Outside the city there's the Gornoknyazevsk Ethnographic Complex, which after your authentic experience at the Nenets camp. might now seem a little contrived! Some travellers do find it a good place to buy local souvenirs.

Enjoy the day exploring the city and stock up on supplies before we begin our long journey to Russia's capital tomorrow.

Accommodation

Meals Included

The Russian capital has survived centuries of revolution and has seen the country through some of its most turbulent years, from the days of the tsars through the communist era to the growing pains of post USSR Russia. Beneath its modern veneer Moscow is a fascinating, historic city with a wealth of sights to see.

Depending on the train schedule, we may arrive into Moscow very early at 4:45am. Head to the hotel, where we’ll have some day rooms available for luggage storage and to freshen up before heading out to explore dazzling Moscow at your leisure.

Perhaps wander through the cobbled Red Square, admire the colourful domes of St Basil’s Cathedral, visit the opulent GUM Department store, head to the fairy-tale building of the State Historical Museum, or marvel at the imposing walls of the Kremlin. From the days of Ivan the Terrible to the military parades of the Cold War, the square has long been at the heart of Russian history. Visit Lenin’s Mausoleum and then enter the Kremlin grounds, filled with some of the oldest and most important churches in the country. The Armoury Museum, home to an eye-bulging collection of ambassadorial gifts, Faberge eggs, coronation robes and glittering jewels, is an easy spot to while away some time. Afterwards, perhaps take the metro to see elaborately decorated stations; from sculptures depicting the glory of the Soviet days to ornate chandeliers and stained glass windows, these are the 'Palaces for the People'. Enjoy your last night with the group tonight with an optional dinner together.

Accommodation

Hotel (1 night)

Optional Activities

Moscow Urban Adventure - Modern Moscow - EUR38

Moscow Urban Adventure - Moscow Behind the Icons - EUR56

Moscow Urban Adventure- Moscow Underground - EUR56

Moscow - Armoury Museum - RUB700

Moscow - Entrance Kremlin Grounds - RUB500

Moscow - St Basils Cathedral - RUB500

Meals Included

There are no meals included on this day.

Special Information

On occasion Lenin's Mausoleum and Red Square may be closed to the public during regular opening hours without prior warning. As Moscow's premier tourist attractions, tickets for the Kremlin and Armoury are in high demand, and the Moscow Tourism Administration sets strict quotas to control visitor numbers. Time in each area is also limited to 90 minutes.

Next trip departures

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Important notes

1. A Single Supplement is available on this trip, excluding overnight train and multishare accommodation nights.
2. Please note in order for our local operator to book train tickets in Russia, we require the following information at time of booking or no later than 60 days prior to departure.
• Passengers full name (First and Last)
• Full Passport Details (number, expiry, issued)
• Date of Birth
• City of Birth
3. Expedition trips may not suit everyone. While a lot of research and planning goes into putting together an Expedition itinerary, they are pioneering and innovative by nature. If smooth, ripple-free travel is what you’re after, perhaps wait until they (possibly) become established trips. But for those with a yearning to veer off the beaten track and explore free of crowds and preconceptions, this is an adventure above all others
4. Travellers on our winter departure must be fully prepared for extreme temperatures (-50C), including adequate clothing and footwear and be in excellent health.
5. Travellers on summer departures should ensure they bring protection against mosquitoes including long sleeves and repellent.

Essential trip information

Want an in-depth insight into this trip? Essential Trip Information provides a detailed itinerary, visa info, how to get to your hotel, what's included - pretty much everything you need to know about this adventure and more.